The seven-day-long annual Hornbill Festival of Nagaland culminated in merriment Tuesday at the Naga Heritage Village, Kisama with vibrant cultural presentations by all 16 Naga tribes and cultural troupes from eight sister-states of the North East. A true spirit of unity was displayed when 480 dancers belonging to sixteen tribes of Nagaland joined hands in unison and performed “Hornbill Unity Dance” amidst applause from the gathering at the concluding ceremony of the Hornbill Festival 2010.The morning cultural programme also witnessed extensive cultural dances, folk songs, dramas, fishing demonstration, grinding of rice for Tsungremong (song), cock fight, monkey dance and other cultural display.Interestingly, tourists at the grand finale night were declared Nagas for the evening and were allowed to freely join the Naga family. With this declaration, the chief guest of the occasion, Meghalaya chief minister Dr. Mukul Sangma and other VIPs accompanying him along with Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio and hosts of other ministers and parliamentary secretaries were seen enjoying the evening, mingling with tourists and joining the cultural troupes. Dr.Mukul Sangma, who graced the culmination of Hornbill Festival as chief guest, later told mediapersons that he was impressed by the festival which not only showcased the rich culture of the Nagas but also brought different Naga tribes together.Sangma disclosed that he had mooted the idea of bringing the whole North East together on the line of Hornbill festival to his Nagaland counterpart to make the region a cultural tourist destination. He suggested that the event could be held alternately every 3 to 4 years.Sangma stated that understanding potentiality of blending culture with tourism can make the region a hot tourist spot. “Integrating potentialities can make the north east a world tourist destination,” he said. Sangma said the eight sister-states should identify and understand their unique and diverse cultural and geographical attraction and integrate to promote themselves. The visiting CM also lauded the state for adding more colours to this year’s fest such as Naga Chilli Eating competition and WW-II Jeep rally. He added that history could be well blended and become a part of attraction since Kohima has history attached with it. Dr. Sangma, who seemed to be impressed by various handicrafts of the state, particularly Bamboo products, stressed the need for conservation of the environment. Meghalaya tourism minister, M. Ampareen Lyngdoh, who accompanied the CM, strongly advocated that on seeing the active participation of the Naga women in the society, they should also be politically elevated and that women required political representation.On the other hand, state parliamentary secretary for tourism Yitachu asserted that Hornbill festival this year went on smoothly and that there were enough tourists throughout the seven-day festivity.Though the state has a long way to go, the objective of the state government in organizing the Hornbill festival to make the state a cultural destination is coming up, Yitachu claimed.Further, Yitachu expressed happiness that the motto of the state government on the message of peace and unity was displayed by the 480-member troupe of different Naga tribes, adding it was “the spirit of unity we could display in action”.He assured that Hornbill festival in the coming year 2011 would be much better with more attractions.WW-II drive for peaceSignificantly marking the culmination of Hornbill Festival, 14 vintage jeeps drove for world peace from Dimapur, Niathu Resort to Naga Heritage Village Kisama Tuesday. The WW II World Peace rally reception was held outside WW II museum Kisama, graced by chief minister Neiphiu Rio and Meghalaya chief minister Mukul Sangma. The best World War vintage jeep award carrying cash prize of Rs.50,000 and memento was awarded to Ashok Lyngdoh, Vincent, Rula, Kyrshan Divesh from Meghalaya; while in the second and third place were Lanu Jamir, Tali Jamir and Col.Sree from Dimapur and P.G. Rongmei and K.Keditsu from Dimapur respectively. They won Rs.30,000 and Rs.20,000 respectively along with mementos. At the reception, chief minister Neiphiu Rio said that World War II peace rally was organized to keep alive the historic Kohima Battle of 1944. He called upon the people to join hands to eradicate terrorism and war and propagate prevalence of peace in Nagaland. Rio announced that World War II rally would be an annual event. He also expressed hope that there would be more participation in future. Four vintage jeeps from Meghalaya, six from Kohima and four from Dimapur participated in the rally. The rally team was led by chief secretary Lalthara and agricultural production commissioner H.K. Khulu. Government officials including commissioner and secretary health & family welfare, Menukhol John and commissioner and secretary, work & housing, Temjen Toy participated in the rally, besides others enthusiasts.The peace rally was earlier flagged off by parl secy, tourism, law and justice Yitachu at Niathu Resort, Dimapur. Slain wins rock contestSlain from Bengaluru, Karnataka won the 2010 Hornbill National Rock Contest, presented by Airtel here on Tuesday night at IG Stadium, Kohima. Meghalaya chief minister Dr Mukhul Sangma gave away the prizes to the winners of the rock contest.Guillotine from Delhi and Incipit from Nagaland took away the first and second runners-up respectively. Nine bands took part in the grand finale. The Hornbill Music Festival is an integral event of the Hornbill Festival, organized by the Music Task Force (YRS), Nagaland. The production and events are managed by XL group.Altogether 21 high profile music bands from 10 states- Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Karnataka, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Maharastra, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Delhi took part in the four-day Rock Contest. Hornbill NatIONAl Rock Contest, 2010 WinnersPRIZE MONEY1st Prize: Rs.5 Lacs (Sponsored by Airtel)- Slain, Bengaluru 2nd Prize: Rs.3.5 Lacs- Guillotine from Delhi 3rd Prize: Rs.2.5 Lacs- Incipit from Nagaland INDIVIDUAL PRIZESBest Vocals: Rs.30,000- Wapang Ozukum(Incipit) Best Guitarist: Rs.30, 000-Bryden (Slain) Best Bassist: Rs.30, 000- Riko Kronu (Street Stories) Best Drummer: Rs.30,000- Aditya (Rosemary) Special categories Best Rhythm Guitarist: Rs.15,000- Sunep Lemtur (Sunep Assemble band) Best Key Boardist: Rs.15,000- Akshat Taneja (Guillotine)